Underdog Amor
by Weavillain
Summary: Perhaps, the attraction between Sami Zayn and Bayley isn't as one-sided as they both respectively believe it to be.(Sami x Bayley) (Takes place on the 10/31/16 episode of Monday Night RAW)


' _Isn't Halloween supposed to be about fun and candy? Since when did getting tossed around by a bearded ogre fit into the holiday spirit?'_ , Sami Zayn thought sarcastically to himself as he got out of the RAW men's locker room, wincing a bit as his right shoulder protested to him shoving the entry door out of his way. Getting out of his ring gear and into a pair of jeans and a salmon colored T-shirt was a bit of a pain but he knew better than to assume that being a wrestler meant living his days pain-free, even if it was Halloween. Duty called for him and his peers to be ready to sell out arenas, full of anticipated WWE fans, whenever they could. Of course, they would have breaks and days off but for Sami, Halloween on RAW was not going to be one of them, especially for what was at stake in the match he had just had.

Besides, to Sami, working for WWE basically meant that every day was October the 31st. Although, it was obvious that he wouldn't find the eccentric personalities, he had to encounter almost daily, at some crummy desk job or back at home in Canada. Whether they were painted-up, wacky screwballs like Goldust or giant, hairy mammoths with a bad temperament like Braun Strowman, there wasn't a moment where an unconventional situation wouldn't present itself to him, almost as if real monsters and ghouls were flying at him.

Speaking of Strowman, he was the reason behind Sami Zayn's slightly downtrodden mood. As he began to roam the backstage halls, looking for something to occupy his mind, Sami thought back to what had taken place about half an hour ago.

Once again, he found himself face to face with the meanest toughest man on the roster in Braun Strowman. Before he and Sami had ever exchanged a passing glance at one another, he had built up a reputation as a silent, brooding animal that tore through competition as if they were wet tissue paper, without remorse and without the slightest bit of mercy. But ever since Strowman got a chance to speak his mind to the world about a month ago, he demanded there be competition worthy of facing him.

Sami had seen it all before; the arrogance, the self-importance, the animosity. It reminded him of his former best friend, Kevin Owens, a man that had found himself success as the WWE Universal Champion. Despite besting him at Battleground, Owens had shot right past him into the main event. Again.

As malice and envy began to take root, within him, Sami shook himself out his funk. He promised himself that he wouldn't be bitter about Owens, wanting to define his career by his own accomplishments and not by being Owens' superior. But as week after week passed of no one coming out to face Strowman head on, he found himself seeing Owens in Strowman, a big bully that needed an ass kicking to take him down a notch. He couldn't lie to himself. Confronting Strowman all those weeks wasn't all altruistic. He needed this. To him, Strowman was an opportunity to not just make a name for himself but to send the message that proclaimed that Sami Zayn would be no one's bitch.

A mere thirty so minutes ago was when he finally had that chance to shut Strowman up. And he came up short. Not only did he fail to eliminate Strowman from the battle royal but in doing so, he lost out on the chance to stand with Team RAW and go up against Team Smackdown at Survivor Series. A double whammy if he ever heard of one.

As he rounded a corner, looking directly at one of the common areas and all of the superstars and backstage workers bustling about or talking to one another, he spotted someone who immediately brightened his spirits. Even with all the people walking by, he could recognize that ponytail from a mile away. He chuckled to himself. It shouldn't come to anyone's surprise why he'd was perked up right now. After all, if anyone could cheer the darkest of moods, just by her aura, it was Bayley.

Out of everyone on RAW, the people closest to him were Neville and Bayley. Despite having a rough patch in NXT, he and Neville quickly found themselves as friends again and continued to have a close bond with each other, talking to each constantly about breaking through the glass ceiling and ascending to new heights.

And then, there was Bayley.

Because of her upbeat and cheery personality, it didn't take long for Sami to hear about her while they were both in NXT. Despite both of their similarly friendly dispositions, they rarely talked to each other. Sami remembered trying to initiate some casual conversation a few times but Bayley always seemed rather…skittish around him and only a few sentences were exchanged between them before Bayley would excuse herself. He found her behavior odd since she seemed to hug anything that moved so being excluded made him feel just a bit wounded on the inside.

Eventually, Sami got the message and stopped trying to get friendly with someone that apparently didn't want it. Besides, between dealing with Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd, Neville, and Kevin Owens, along with chasing the NXT championship, Zayn had too much on his plate to think about her for too long.

Despite all of that, Sami, along with everyone in NXT that didn't have a huge ego, were more than proud of Bayley when she won the NXT Women's title at NXT Takeover Brooklyn. Everyone, even her envious rivals and foes, knew that she deserved to be put on the pedestal for all of her hard work. As time passed, he'd leave NXT for the main roster, leaving Bayley and his close friends behind.

To his surprise, not only did Bayley end up on the same brand as him, but despite their awkward history, it was Bayley who started talking to him. She never brought up how they used to be before but Sami couldn't find it in himself to care one iota. He didn't want to screw things up by stirring the pot by calling her out on how she was apparently brushing him off all those times. All he knew that he was happy to have found a friend in Bayley.

Judging by her downcast demeanor, though, it looked like she could use some company. Sami understood why, though. She just lost a hard fought match against Nia Jax and it didn't look like she escaped without more than a few bumps and bruises. Since the match had happened just a few minutes ago, it looked like Bayley didn't have time to get out of her ring gear. More than anything, though, her spirit was probably more crushed than anything.

Taking a few eager strides to her direction, he called out to her and waved as soon as she looked up at him and their eyes met. She smiled and waved back at him, doing her best to mask her pain but Sami could spot it easily. She was presently sitting in a chair against the wall and out of the way of everyone walking about. Instead of grabbing a chair of his own, Zayn decided to slump against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He cringed when his sore shoulder blade bumped against the wall, something that Bayley instantly picked up on.

"Strowman?" she asked, doing her best to bring levity into the atmosphere, since she felt that the both of them could use it. Sami instantly knew what she meant and confirmed that she was correct about the source of his pain. Seeing as they were both feeling sore because of their confrontations with beasts, Sami thought it'd only be fair to playfully return serve and put her on the spot.

"Jax?" he asked with a bit of a teasing smirk etched on his face.

"Actually," Bayley countered with a smirk of her own, "I prefer Reptile. Doesn't get enough respect, in my opinion."

He had to admit, she got him good on that one. She seemed to know it too since she chuckled at her little quip along with him.

"Very funny," Sami remarked, not at all annoyed with her. Besides achieving glory in the ring, being close to people like Bayley were moments that he lived for. He wouldn't trade time with her for the world, especially if it meant that he got to embrace the warmth of her hugs and hear the melodious tone behind her laughs. And not to mention the smiles that would draw his attention to the attractive curves of her lips, lips that he wouldn't mind making contact with with his…

Before Bayley could catch onto his drifting thoughts, Sami quickly berated himself mentally. Now was not the time to be thinking about Bayley like that…again. She needed a friend, not a horndog that couldn't keep his fantasies under lock and key. Thankfully, Bayley didn't seem to pick up on his unsteady vibes and continued their conversation as if nothing amiss had happened.

"I try."

"And succeed."

"Yeah," Bayley sighed before she started twirling a finger in her drooping ponytail, "too bad I'm not as good at beating Nia Jax."

"Ah, don't worry about that. You'll get her next time. You've beaten her before and don't forget, you had a match last night. You weren't exactly at 100%," Sami said reassuringly. Bayley may have been down now but he knew that she would overcome any obstacle in front of her. She had done so before.

"Thanks but…"Bayley sighed again, looking down at the floor as she did so, "…I can't just rely on excuses like that all the time. I've wrestled hurt plenty of times. Heck, I just beat Dana Brooke with a bad arm."

Sami involuntarily eyed the bandage that was wrapped firmly around her left bicep, doing his best not to gaze at any other part of her body, despite the temptation that her ring gear offered him with all the open patches of skin that it exposed to him. He had never been this physically close to her before at the level that he was currently sitting at.

Before his mind could wander off into more perverse territory again, Sami took the reins on his libido and kept on talking.

"Which is exactly why I know that you'll beat her. But don't forget, she's on your team for Survivor Series and I'd love nothing more than to see RAW sweep Smackdown three to zero so make sure you don't beat her too badly, okay?"

"Sure," Bayley responded, more chipper than ever before. Sami was happy that he was able to uplift her self-esteem but still felt rather guilty about fantasizing about Bayley like that. He remembered back to when it started happening, just a few weeks ago. She had just gotten finished doing an interview with Jojo backstage and Sami was waiting for her just a few feet away. When she ran up to him, she tripped on one of her bootlaces and fell forward. Thinking fast, Sami managed to catch but in doing so, hastily wrapped his arm around her upper torso to keep her from face planting on the hard floor. In doing so, his arm was firmly pressed against her breasts. Though she thought nothing of the embrace, apparently not even noticing what he had accidentally done, Sami would never forget that feeling, even if his life had depended on it.

Regardless, he knew he had way more admiration for Bayley than the physical. She was physically attractive, that much he was certain of, but dwelling in these carnal feelings felt like a betrayal for the admiration that he had for her character more than anything else. She was radiant, vivacious, energetic, and enlivened but not enough to shift her focus away from reaching her goals. Even with all of the persevering he had done himself, he still found that he had more than enough room in his heart for her encouragement. So much so that he could almost say that he…depended on it. But thinking about Bayley even in that light, was more than he felt that she wanted or needed to hear about right now.

Deciding not to dwell on his licentious desires any further, Sami reached a hand up to Bayley, playfully nudging her side with a fist and adding, "Atta girl. Don't let her beat you."

"Ow," Bayley hissed sharply at the kind but misguided gesture. Sami jerked his hand away immediately as Bayley reached down to rub at the sore spot on her ribs.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Sami apologized sheepishly. How could he forget about the fact that she just had a match with Nia Jax? What kind of a moron was he? If he wasn't perving on Bayley in his thoughts, she was being hurt because of his stupidity. Maybe Bayley was right to avoid him from the start. He was bringing her nothing but trouble. A bit of nausea began to brew at the pit of his stomach at the idea of Bayley finding out what he had been thinking about for the past few minutes.

Bayley noticed his inner turmoil, thinking that he was guilty merely over the fact that he had accidentally hurt him, and did her best to put him at ease.

"It's cool. Don't sweat it. I know you'd never hurt me on purpose."

"I don't know about that, Bayley. According to our WWE Universal Champion, I'm a backstabbing weasel who turns his back on his friends and does everything he can to get ahead at everyone's expense. I might just stick the knife in when you least expect it," Sami answered back, evidently in a better ambience now that he knew that Bayley wasn't angry at him. Despite his bringing up of Kevin Owens, it was clear that he was back in a jesting mood and Bayley responded in kind to continue their good-natured bantering.

"Please. You give Mother Teresa a run for her money."

"In the altruism department or the religious habit wearing department?"

"Hmmm, I'd say both."

"You might be onto something. The heels would make my Helluva Kicks a lot more devastating."

That earned the biggest laugh he ever mustered from Bayley, a fact that he was immensely proud of. He'd revel in the joy longer had Bayley not abruptly stopped her laughter to double over slightly in pain, clutching at her left side again in the exact spot that Sami had jabbed at.

"You okay?" Sami asked with concern. Bayley gave him a thumbs up and a smile that would've looked better had it not been for her grimace.

"Yeah. My ribs got kinda banged up, that's all."

Between her bad arm and bad ribs, Sami wasn't exactly sure if he could trust that endorsement, especially since she had just been thrashed about by Nia Jax and couldn't defend herself all that well.

"That's all?" He inquired, an eyebrow quirked in suspicion.

"…"

"Bayley…"

"Okay, so maybe my foot hurts a little, too. And my neck has seen better days."

Unbelievable! Just what sort of fortitude did she possess to walk around with all of that and not even go see a trainer? He was happy to have found her out here but he'd rather know that she was getting treatment for her aching limbs and muscles instead of shooting the breeze with him.

"And why exactly, with all of that pain, aren't you getting looked over right now?"

"I think Bo Dallas is occupied in the trainer's room right now. You can thank your new friend Strowman for that one. Once I found about that, I made my way back out here. If I'm gonna lounge around, might as well be where I can see something happening, right?"

Bayley was hoping that Sami could sympathize with her plight enough not to chew her out for being careless. They both knew what it was like working hurt and respected each other for pulling through the worst of injuries to compete. To Bayley, this was no different. Truthfully, she hadn't seen a trainer since she came to RAW, not wanting any minor nicks and pains to put her on the sidelines at a trainer's request. Even though she seemed to pick up a new ailment every week, she hoped that it wouldn't be long before she could acclimate to the discomfort and trundle forward.

After tonight, however, she knew that was no longer an option, especially knowing that she would be representing one-fifth of Team RAW's Women's team for Survivor Series. Even with the pain she could acknowledge needed treatment, she still refused to see help to get her to the back. Call it pride but she felt like anything short of a medical emergency could be walked on, even if her foot agonizingly disagreed with her.

"And another thing…" Sami continued. There was just something about her story that he didn't like and he wanted to put two and two together as quickly as he could.

"Yeah?"

"Did you walk all the way out here…by yourself?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I'll take that a 'yes'," Sami groused, slightly irritated with her foolhardy bravado. He respected her resolve but at the expense of hurting herself more? It just wasn't worth it. With all of the information of her well-being now processed, Sami knew of the next course of action that needed to be taken.

He'd take Bayley to the trainer. Now. She needed a medical evaluation sooner rather than later and despite him feeling as though it would ruffle her feathers a bit, he cherished keeping his good friends safe rather than keeping her happy with him at her own expense.

"Welp, guess this means I don't have much of a choice," he declared sagely as he got up from off his spot and stepped infront of Bayley. Bayley looked up at him, puzzled at the meaning behind his words but was even more befuddled when Sami turned around until his back was facing her and bent down onto the ground until he was kneeling on one knee.

"Get on," he requested, looking back at Bayley's confused face and sniggered at the cute way her eyebrows shot up.

"Get on…what?" Bayley asked rather timidly, knowing exactly where Sami was going with this.

Sami chuckled at her trepidation. He didn't think she'd get so flustered. Miffed and a bit annoyed, maybe, but definitely not flustered. It made his deed well worth the execution.

"My back, of course. I'm gonna carry you back there so we can wait outside together. My shoulder's kind of hurt, too. We can keep each other company while we're waiting so we don't get bored. Don't want anyone else getting seen before you, right?"

Bayley had to admit that while his logic was sound, she still couldn't get over the fact that his suggestion made her rather jittery. What he was talking about was innocuous and sweet enough for her to take up and she would've done so without hesitation if it were anyone else.

But Sami Zayn was different. _Way_ different. Too different for her not to get all hot and bothered about at the notion of her body snuggled wrapped around him and he carried her around. Just talking to him in NXT was enough to send her scurrying away, not wanting to make a fool of herself by saying something stupid.

' _Like admitting the teeny crush that I…might still have on him,'_ Bayley thought to herself and mentally whined in distress at the fact that she felt her cheeks redden, something that she prayed Sami wouldn't notice. She knew full well that 'might' wasn't even an option at this point.

It was like NXT all over again. She was sure that with all the self-confidence she picked up there, evident by the fact that she made the first move by speaking to him when they met up for the first time on RAW, she could get over her feelings she had been harboring for him for the better part of about two years and forge a friendship with him. She was elated when it happened and was comfortable with being in the same vicinity as him at long last but still couldn't avoid the looming admiration that she had for him.

His determination, his focus, his willingness to not be compromised; it was valor personified in a humble package. He was an inspiration that helped her move forward and she was forever grateful for the influence that his actions had on her.

His throat clearing snapped her back to reality and over to Sami's expectant face, which made her heart skip a beat when she took note of the playfully sinister smile on his face and the way his eyes narrowed at her, as if she was the sole focus of his universe.

"I mean, well, uh…I just don't you think people might get the wrong…idea?" Bayley stuttered out, mentally cringing at the implausible excuse she just churned out.

Sami stopped his kidding around as he was genuinely puzzled about Bayley's supposed worry. It was amusing at first but what exactly could her anxiety about people getting the wrong idea be about? About them? Being seen in public together? That thought didn't settle well with him at all.

"About what?" he asked, hoping that she wouldn't confirm his fears.

"It's just that…y'know…I-I don't want to cause any problems for you," Bayley fumbled out weakly, hoping that Sami would buy into her justification.

Sami breathed a sigh of relief. That was all? She was just worried about him getting hurt himself. That was a relief and a half.

"Naaaaaah, don't worry about it. My shoulder's a bit stiff, not my back. Won't be a problem at all."

' _That's not what I meant,'_ Bayley lamented to herself. Sighing, she looked around and notice that there was way less activity than before. She couldn't spot any of the RAW superstars around, meaning that there weren't any great chances of rumors being spread about them. The last thing she wanted was for Sami to have to deal with teasing about being intimate with someone that she felt that he clearly only felt platonically for anyways.

"Well…I…I guess it should be fine," she relented with only slight hesitation.

Sami beamed when she finally decided to let him help her.

"Good! Let's get going. I hear if you're good, you get a Tootsie Pop," he joshed, getting Bayley to snicker at his little joke. He glowered slightly in pain as he adjusted to the feeling of Bayley sliding against his back. When her arms wrapped lightly around his neck, he got up, effortlessly keeping her secured before he reached to his sides and held her legs in place by lightly gripping them with his hands.

"But then again, I guess it won't matter if I don't get any. You're plenty sweet as it is," he proclaimed as he made his way over to the trainer's room.

Bayley was thankful that Sami couldn't see her face, not wanting to have to explain her flushed face to him at the compliment that he just gave her. Well, that and the fact that his fingers were firmly digging into her thighs, just close enough for him to be nearly squeezing into her butt.

Although, she couldn't decide if it was her own volition or Carmella's influence on her but she couldn't say that she would mind it if he did, accidentally or otherwise.

 **A/N:** I'm just glad I finally got this story out here. I don't think there's been one Zayn/Bayley story on this entire site and it's a darn shame. Hopefully I'm not in this camp alone and that there's an audience for this kind of scenario. If not, I'll gladly accept my place on Jericho's List for being a stupid idiot. :(


End file.
